This second report synthesises results from studying the effects of social conventions
within the internal organisation and evolution of micro-finance groups, also known as
solidarity groups, at a microfinance institution (MFI) in southern Mexico. According
to our publishing agreement, their precise identity and location is omitted. The next
section contains interpretations of all collected data and graphs, drawing on answers
from the second questionnaire to credit advisors and five financial databases. I thank
the MFI director, their team, economist Federico Morales, anthropologist Ignacio García
and Chris Catlin, along with CFPM and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology for the
support provided for this research.
Available at: http://cfpm.org/cpmrep201.html

The meeting of researchers from MAS engineering and the social/economic/organizational sciences is extensively recognized for its role in cross-fertilization, and it has undoubtedly been an important source of inspiration for the body of knowledge that has been produced in the MAS area.

The MABS workshop series continues with its goal to bring together researchers interested in MAS engineering, with researchers focused on finding efficient solutions to model complex social systems, in such areas as economics, management, organizational and social sciences in general. In all these areas, agent theories, metaphors, models, analysis, experimental designs, empirical studies, and methodological principles, all converge into simulation as a way of achieving explanations and predictions, exploration and testing of hypotheses, better designs and systems.

This year, in addition to our usual range of topics for discussion, we would like to include a session focussing particularly on issues related to the use of Big Data in MABS. Researchers who are looking at any aspect of using Big Data to build MABS, MABS to improve understanding of Big Data, or related topics are strongly encouraged to make a submission.

TOPICS

The range of technical issues that MABS deals with is diverse and extensive and it includes:

Simulation methodologies: Standards for MABS. Methodologies and simulation languages for MABS. Simulation platforms and tools for MABS. Visualization and analytic tools. Approaches for large-scale simulations. Scalability and robustness in MABS. Simulation modelling of multidirectional dynamics in complex social systems. Provenance and ontology driven approaches in building simulations. Simulation of social and economic behaviour: Formal and agent models of social behaviour. Cognitive modelling and social simulation. Game theory and simulation. Social structure: social networks and simulating organizations. Simulating social complexity (e.g. structures and norms, social order, emergence of cooperation and coordinated action, self-organization, the micro-macro link). Use of qualitative evidence to inform behavioural rules. Applications: MABS in environmental modelling. Agent-based experimental economics. Participative simulation. MABS and games. Big Data and Multi-Agent-Based Simulation: Data driven simulations. Real time data processing. Design and analysis of simulation experiments including uncertainty analysis. Handling Big Data in MABS including sense making.

SUBMISSION

Review processMABS welcomes the submission of full papers with preference to the topics listed in the call for papers. All submissions will go through a peer review process, with two or three independent PC members reviewing each submission. Only those deemed to be 1) relevant to the workshop's aims, 2) presenting original work, and 3) of good quality and clarity will be accepted. Following the workshop, participants will be required to revise their papers, taking into account feedback received at the workshop, and then undergo a second review process before publication in the post-proceedings.

Submitting papersAll submissions should be no longer than 12 pages, in PDF format. Authors are required to use Springer LNCS format for proceedings. Eletronic submission will be managed online through the EasyChair system. To register your paper (deadline January 20th, 2014) you need to provide basic information about the submission including its title, abstract, keywords and author(s). You do not need to upload the full PDF for the purpose of paper registration, but the papers full PDF must be uploaded before the paper submission deadline (January 22nd, 2014).

PublicationAll accepted papers will be included in the AAMAS 2014 Workshop Proceedings. Following the workshop, participants will be required to revise their papers, which will undergo a second review process before publication in the post-proceedings, as part of the Multi-Agent-Based Simulation Series for Springer-Verlag, Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence.